Report and free match highlights as Brighton end six-game winless run with victory over Aston Villa. Morgan Rodgers forced out the first half with an injury and Pascal Gross had a second half goal ruled out for offside by VAR. Joao Pedro netted a late winner after saving a penalty.
22:08, UK, Sunday 05 May 2024
Joao Pedro’s late winner held off Aston Villa’s charge to qualify for the Champions League as Brighton claimed a deserved 1-0 victory at the Amex Stadium.
Villa, though, need just three points from their last two matches against Liverpool and Crystal Palace to secure fourth place after beating Spurs 4-2 in Liverpool on Sunday.
But Unai Emery’s side looked deflated following their midweek defeat at Olympiakos when Pascal Gross was denied an early goal by the out-of-form hosts during the second-half VAR. was ruled offside.
Villa’s John McGinn then found the net but was also offside before Brighton claimed the points, Pedro heading in the rebound from his penalty which was saved by the brilliant Robin Olsen.
Villa are fourth, seven points above Spurs, who have a game in hand.
How Brighton rocked Villa.
Brighton winger Simon Udingara was the man of the match and forced Olsen to make a brilliant save from the injured Amy Martinez.
Villa struggled to find any rhythm which was further hampered when the in-form Morgan Rodgers was forced off with a muscle injury in just the 24th minute.
Ollie Watkins showed his quality with a fine touch to get away from Adam Webster but Villa saw little of the Brighton goal with all the action coming at the other end.
The hosts had two chances in added time when Edingara failed to get past Olsson before the Villa goalkeeper made a crucial save from Grass at close range.
Olsen continued his fine form in the second half when Udingra played Joao Pedro through on goal and the striker was denied by the great goalkeeper.
Brighton thought they had finally taken the lead when Gross headed in Igor’s left-wing cross but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was disallowed.
Villa then saw McGann’s strike ruled offside as he headed home after the ball ricocheted inside the box while Brighton striker Danny Welbeck saw his header fall wide.
Brighton ran up the winner and got their reward when Adengara took the wrong side of Ezeri Konsa and went down in the box. Olsen dived to his right and kept out Pedro’s penalty, but the ball sat well high for the Brighton forward to head inside.
De Zerbi: We didn’t play real Villa.
Roberto de Zerbi says the experience will help his young players develop.
“I am proud because we played a great game against one of the best teams in the Premier League. They are fourth and it is very difficult to play against Unai Emery. We played well and deserved to win.
“We could have scored more goals but to be honest, Villa weren’t real Villa. Maybe they were tired. I can understand that because they played on Thursday night and they had a lot of injuries. For that, they couldn’t. Be the real Austin Villa.
“We played very well in the defensive phase but also in the offensive phase, we created a lot of chances to score, we made mistakes at the end of the pitch, we have to improve, but we are unlucky because [Robin] Olsson was Villa’s best player.
Emery: We could not repeat the valor of arms.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was keen to focus on the positives after their loss.
“[Tiredness] There is no excuse for us. We lost and deserved no more. We competed and focused. We tried to take our chances.
“They were creating more chances than us. We needed a goalkeeper and Robin Olsen played brilliantly.
“We played against Arsenal two weeks ago in more or less the same conditions and we won there. Today we didn’t do that and got a good result. We didn’t deserve more but we have to be positive, happy and Proud of our work.”
Opta Stats: Villa limited to two shots.
- Joao Pedro’s goal was his 20th of the season, making him the first player to score 20+ goals in a single season for Brighton in all competitions since Glenn Murray in 2016-17 (23).
- Brighton beat Aston Villa at home for the first time in the Premier League, and for the first time at home in all competitions since December 1980, extending an eight-game winless run since 1 at home to the Villains (D4 L4). finished A -0 win under Alan Mullery at the Goldstone Ground.
- Aston Villa had just two shots against Brighton, their fewest in a Premier League match since May 2016 vs Newcastle United (also 2), compared only to Manchester United in August 2005 (1). There were very few on record (from 2003-04).
- Brighton manager Roberto Di Zerbi picked up his fifth booking of the season, no manager in the Premier League this season (Michel Arteta also with 5). In total, De Zerbi has now picked up 11 cards in the league during his time at Brighton, with the Italian also having the most cards in the Premier League last season (6 – 4 yellows, 2 reds).
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what’s next?
Brighton They have three games left in the season. They go Newcastle Saturday, May 11, kick-off at 3 p.m., before hosting Chelsea On Wednesday 15th May, kick-off at 7.45pm. Brighton then finish at home Manchester United Sunday, May 19, 4 p.m.
Austin Villa The journey of Olympiakos Thursday 9 May for the second leg of the Europa Conference League semi-finals, kick-off at 8pm. He will then perform at home on May 13. Liverpool, live on. Kick off at 8pm. Unai Emery’s team finished the season. Crystal Palace May 19, starting at 4 p.m.
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